Page 1.

Crofton Parish Council

 

  Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held 16th December 2008.                             

 

Present;          Councillors, Chalkley (Chair), Bennett, Hewitt, Jacques, Makin, Schofield, Towns, Voros and Wrigg.

           

In attendance;                       4 members of the public

                                                District Councillor Cummings.

 

12/127             Receive report from West Yorkshire Police         

Since PC Daley was not in attendance, his monthly report was presented by the Chair of the Parish Council Cllr Trevor Chalkley.

Cllr Jacques noted that parking on Slack Lane had improved, particularly on a morning.

Cllr Chalkley informed members that the parking of Post Office vans on the pavement at Slack Lane, was once again causing an obstruction to pedestrians, he had reported the matter to PC Daley.

 

12/128             Wakefield MDC District Councillors Report

Cllr Cummings wished all in attendance a Merry Christmas, she also provided members with the following information;  

Following the recent Police meeting held in the Parish Centre, comment had been made about ‘cold calling’ by individuals in the Bedford Close area, Paul Harvey of WDH was to organise a Pilot scheme to combat such problems, it had also been suggested that a sign could be erected stating that there was to be no cold calling after 6pm.

The grate/drain cover adjacent to Premier Stores (see minute 11/110) had been reported to Yorkshire Water.

Cllr Cummings was informed that the rubbish by the Parish Centre’s wooden gate had yet to be collected, despite her having received assurances it would be.

In response to a previous comment about the number of bottles and cans that were being deposited in the grounds of the Parish Centre, she suggested the placement of a can cage may provide a solution, members would consider this at a later date.

Cllr Jacques had noted that the Wakefield Express had made comment about an initiative by the Labour MP Ed Balls, which was to allocate money for the refurbishment of playgrounds. He asked Cllr Cummings if she would seek an allocation of the funds for Crofton, which she duly noted.

Cllr Voros asked if Cllr Cummings could arrange for the cleaning of the area by the surgery.

 

12/129             Public Participation session

Residents in attendance commented on youths causing a nuisance on Middle Lane (members having been notified via Note 9; of the Correspondence section of the summons), it was confirmed that PC Daley was aware of the situation.

It was suggested that where and how alcohol was being purchased and consumed by youths, needed to be addressed in an effort to stop such behaviour.                          Cllr Bennett commented on the lack of facilities offering entertainment, if more

Page 2.

 

facilities were offered it would help alleviate the situation, Cllr Cummings stated that whatever the numbers or types of facilities offered, it would still not solve the problem.  

 

12/130             Apologies for absence          

PC Daley.

District Councillor Lodge and Isherwood

Councillors; Brown, Duffy K, Duffy S and Ripley.

 

12/131             Declarations of Interest

Cllr Bennett declared his interest with regard Planning and Highway matters

 

12/132             Minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 18th November 2008, were signed as a true record by the Chairman.

 

12/133             Discuss matters arising from previous minutes

Since issuing the summons, the Clerk had received a letter from the Infrastructure Manager of METRO which stated that they had sent confirmation that the existing brick shelter would be replaced with a modern shelter. The Clerk would confirm if this comment was accurate or not and at the request of members, invite him to the next Parish Council meeting. The Clerk was asked to provide a copy of the ensuing correspondence to Cllr Cummings.

The Clerk had received a response from WMDC Highways Enforcement, stating that they allow within reason, gates to be opened across the highway, if it is a matter of entering and leaving premises.

The owner of the conifers which were causing an obstruction at 1 Ashdene Crescent, had been instructed to cut them back within 14 days, failure to do so would incur a legal notice being served on him.

WYPTE had acknowledged the enquiry made about the suspended bus service on Pontefract Road, but had not yet given a response as to reason why or what the alternative would be.

 

12/134             Community Facilities

Report Parish Centre

Cllr Jacques reported that;

Crofton Art Group had recently hired the centre.

He sought members approval to purchase a clock for the centre, this was agreed. 

Report Village Association

Nothing to report.

Report Allotments

Cllr Hewitt informed members that the rents for the next allotment year would be increased by 10%, collection day was provisionally arranged for 10th January.

Report Parish Cemetery

Cllr Schofield reported that;

T&D Contractors had commenced work on crowning the trees previously identified as needing attention.

 

Page 3.

 

Following information from Cllr Cummings, the trees in the closed churchyard to the rear of Rose Garth were the responsibility of WMDC, work was due to commence on them.

 

12/134             Discuss Traffic issues

With regard to previous comments about parking on Slack Lane, Cllr Makin queried whether the information on the signage was sufficient for residents to be aware of their responsibilities, ie; the permitted times of when to park and the lack of use of parking facilities to the rear of the properties. The Clerk was asked to contact WMDC Traffic Management about such matters.

Cllr Hewitt informed members, that he had cause to approach drivers using vehicles at excessive speeds along the track that led to the dwellings of the recently converted barns owned by Dr Kamal. 

Cllr Schofield had noted the parking of cars on the speed bumps on Harrison Road adjacent to Shay Lane School, he felt this was a potential problem.

 

12/135             Parish Leases

A response had been received detailing the work which was carried out at the Priory Field for the cost incurred, Cllr Towns asked the Clerk to make a further enquiry to establish on which days the work was undertaken and the frequency.

 

12/136             Cleansing/Environment

Nothing to report.

 

12/137             Planning Notifications

Members raised no objections to the information received.

The Clerk informed members of a letter received from WMDC Planning Services concerning 14 Farnham Way, which was subject to an objection from the Parish Council. There was to be a meeting of the Planning and Highways Committee to consider the application further and members were invited to attend and speak at the meeting(subject to certain criteria being satisfied).

 

12/138             Financial matters

The Clerk having informed members of invoices to be paid received no objections.

Members were in agreement with the content of the monthly accounts.

Cllr Bennett queried why the payment for T&D Contractors was classed as a, s137 payment, the Clerk stated that their work was of benefit to more than one specific area of the village, however consideration could be given to the cost having a different budget heading in the future.

                                                                       

12/139             Correspondence received

Members noted the content of the information received in particular;

Note 3, members decided to decline the offer to transfer the Beech Avenue allotments due to other commitments involving existing allotment sites.

The Clerk informed members that the new mandatory publication scheme was due for adoption before the 31st December 2008. Members would be circulated with a copy of the new publication scheme and inform the Clerk if they were not agreeable to its acceptance.

Page 4;

 

12/140             Parish matters

Cllr Chalkley asked the Clerk to send thanks to WMDC Electrical Engineers for the work they did at the Christmas lights switch on.

Despite Cllr Hewitt having been informed that the system for taking blood samples at Crofton Health Centre would be changed to alleviate the time delays (see minute 11/123), this had yet to be implemented. It was agreed that the Clerk would submit a letter to Dr Leading following a consultation with Cllr Hewitt to confirm the facts.

Cllr Bennett stated that the bench outside the Health Centre was in need of some maintenance, members agreed for the Clerk to approach Chris Parkes (who had previously repaired the bench) to arrange appropriate repairs.

The Crofton Arms on Doncaster Road was being used for a number of purposes, the Clerk was asked to contact WMDC Planning to establish what category of use it had permission for.

The Clerk was asked to send a letter of thanks to Crofton Silver Band for their attendance and performance at the Christmas Lights ‘switch on’.

Cllr Schofield had noted that improvement work was being carried out at Coppers Lake park.

Cllr Wrigg informed members that the former shop on Hawthorn Avenue was in a state of disrepair, the Clerk was asked to contact WMDC about the matter.

 

12/141             Date of next meeting

Resolved; that the next meeting to be held on Tuesday, 20th January 2009 at 7pm in                               Crofton Parish Centre, High Street, Crofton.

 

12/142             Members of the public and press were to leave before agenda no.18

It was agreed

 

12/143             Matters to be discussed in private

There were none.

 

 

Signed                                                                         Date                                        Chairman Crofton Parish Council